When most people are asked what a dental surgery needs to be successful, they will inevitably say things like high-quality, well-trained staff, good equipment and, of course, happy patients.
And while all of these things are important for your dental surgery, getting those happy patients to your surgery in the first place is a vital aspect of your work and will usually require a lot of focus in the area of marketing and search engine optimisation.
Even if you are from the school of belief that wants to minimise the use of online marketing and SEO in the building of your dental surgery, you may inadvertently be causing more issues concerning the growth of your surgery. In order to grow your business efficiently, the best way to be visible online and to attract more patients to your surgery is by using both of these methods.
So, to explore this in a bit more depth, why does your dental surgery need dental marketing to be successful?
Increase brand awareness
Dental surgery marketing can be used to increase awareness of a practice’s brand and to remind potential patients of a practice’s services. If you regularly post information via social media or your blog about what it is that your team can offer and you are promoting this service, you are likely to see higher returns.
It can also assist you to build a voice for your brand, which can help patients associate your dental surgery with higher quality services.
Strengthen patient relationships
Regular marketing allows a practice to stay in touch with existing patients, reinforcing the relationship between a practice and its patients. This can be via social media or via an online blog, which will allow you to answer customer complaints and queries quickly, thus boosting the customer experience online. This may even be spread to those who are looking for a dental surgery, helping you to reach more patients, especially if it is done on a platform like Facebook
Build an online presence
Digital marketing tools such as a practice website, blog, and social media channels can be used to create an online presence that helps a practice to reach more potential patients than through traditional methods alone. As mentioned before, this is vital to building strong brand recognition and providing a better customer experience for your dental patients.
Improve search rankings
Strategic online marketing campaigns can be used to improve a practice’s rankings in search engine results, which helps to increase the practice’s visibility and attract more patients over time. This is where SEO comes in; without regular and updated marketing campaigns, your SEO is going to be less visible, and thus, the two need to go hand in hand to help your surgery climb the ranks and be noticed by more patients.
Enhance patient loyalty
Marketing campaigns for dental surgeries can be used to build and strengthen relationships with patients, encouraging patient loyalty and creating repeat customers. Indeed, your surgery marketing plan not only needs to encourage new patients to visit your surgery, but it also needs to encourage previous patients to keep coming back and engaging with your team.